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Home My WebLink About1-13-20 Process Work Session SlidesCouncil Process Session Eugene City Council January 13, 2020 1 Public Forum Themes •Purpose of Forum •Equity & Access •Community Member Behavior •Length of Meeting 2 Purpose of Forum •Current Purpose Statement •“Members of the public may speak about any topic during the Public Forum, except as provided below…” •Purpose Statement Themes •Important component of public involvement •Purpose seems unclear to community members •Testimony has varying degrees of utility for Council in informing decisions •Quantity versus quality 3 Equity & Access •Wait times to testify are discouraging, particularly for newcomers •People with luxury of time and mode of transportation can attend regularly and/or testify early •First-come queuing process is problematic •Desire to hear from new voices 4 Community Member Behavior •Current environment is not welcoming for all community members •Some do not feel comfortable and choose not to testify •There are some safety (or perception of safety) issues that could be addressed •Managing behavior can be challenging 5 Length of Meeting •Length of Public Forum can impact the ability to address other Council business •Positive response to 2 minute testimony •Consistency for community members •Suggestions about limiting: •Number of speakers/session length •Number of speakers per topic •Number of PF per month •Amount of testimony per year/per speaker 6 Public Forum in Other Cities 7 City Frequency Speaker Time Forum Time Limit Springfield 2x/mo.3 min 20 min Roseburg 2x/mo.6 min 30 min Salem 2x/mo.3 min -- Portland 2x/mo.5 min 25 min Gresham 2x/mo. 3 min -- Hillsboro 2x/mo. 3 min -- Berkeley 2x/mo.1-2 min 10 min/no limit Boulder 2x/mo.2-3 min 45 min Summary of Actions •Administrative •Post new signage with behavior expectations •Revise Mayor’s script at beginning of forum •Provide suggestions on effective testimony •Prohibit handouts to Council or audience (place in box at podium) •Increase outreach to community about public forum •Staff explore feasibility of convening public forum away from Harris Hall occasionally (cost/logistics) 8 Summary of Actions •Suggested •Move to 2-minute time limit on testimony as a pilot to evaluate •Needs More Discussion •Revise Public Forum purpose statement •Considering randomizing order of speakers •Consider grouping speakers by topic area •Consider having community members sign statement agreeing to expectations •Consider increased security 9 Questions & Comments 10